I have also seen it written as 'Aka ne'. According to the Appendix A of the Vertrees/ Gregory book 'Aka' means red and 'ne' means ridge, origin.

Of Japanese origin introduced circa 1984. It is my favourite yellow cultivar. The leaves are first orange/yellow with red margins (ridges?) as shown in the first two pics taken 31/03/2006. It changes very slowly to all yellow leaves as shown in the last two pics taken last week (the last, close up, pic does not render well the yellow tones which are better in the third pic). The twigs are red which adds attractive contrast.

My tree is in the ground (third season) and sees 3 hrs of morning sun only. It stays yellow, only fading to a pale yellow green at the end of the summer. Fall colors again bright yellow. Subject to mildew although less so than A. palmatum 'Aureum'.

I reopen this thread due to the article by Hisao Nakajima in the latest Newsletter of The Maple Society (Winter 2007).

For those who are not Maple Society members, Mr. Nakajimaâ€™s article is on Acer palmatum â€˜Akaneâ€™. He recounts the story of how Tsukasa Nursery (in 1984) was shown this cultivar by a customer who had found it in the Morning Glory Market. All â€˜Akanesâ€™ seem to come from two plants that Mr. Tanaka (Tsukasaâ€™s owner) was able to buy at the market, the original selection and its owner disappeared for good.

Then the article continues with a description of the maple, pretty much what I say in my original post above. However I was amazed when Mr. Nakajima writes:

â€˜June is the last month to enjoy this cultivar as, due to the rainy season in Japan, the leaves get brown spot and become unpleasant lookingâ€™

The climate in my region, Southwest France, is not rainy at all in the summer but I get exactly what Mr. Nakajima says (see pics) beginning July and, this, each year Iâ€™ve had the plant. In order to get rid of those spots I have used fungicides and/or pesticides but to no avail. The maple itself seems to be little affected by the condition since, comes spring and the plant is â€˜magnifiqueâ€™ again.

What should one conclude? Since all Akanes come from the original two of Tsukasa Nursery, are they all very susceptible to brown spot (what is it anyway?)? In order to test this I have bought a second Akane from a different source and I will see next summer how it behaves.

That's interesting. I can't say that I've seen any common fungi that would cause that type of browning, put it could be something I suppose. I wonder if it is being bleached to the point of burning. I haven't experienced this with maples but I have with other plants with high levels of yellow pigmentation.

hello
i got the same thing here in Gironde (France) with an acer tsuma gaki
in july/ august even if it is often watered the brown spots appear
I 've traide fungicides but it doesn't work
the brown spots are followed by autumn colors and leaf drops
i wonder if others have the same phenomenum

The condition is definitely not due to sun scorch or sun bleach, the maple is in dappled shade as shown in this new pic. Next to the Akane you may notice the presence of A. palmatum 'Taylor' (the pink one) which is far more delicate and sunburns very easily, it does well at that location (pic taken June 2007).

I haven't experienced this with maples but I have with other plants with high levels of yellow pigmentation

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What do you think it is?,
I have many other yellow-pigmented plants, including other A. palmatum cultivars, but these ugly brown spots appear only on the Akane, year after year.

>I have also seen it written as 'Aka ne'. According to the Appendix A of the Vertrees/ Gregory book 'Aka' means red and 'ne' means ridge, origin<

On the other hand in the same book's description of the cultivar, which Vertrees (Gregory) lists as 'Akane' it says

"The name 'Akane' means "the madder plant". Because of the color of the dye obtained from the madder plant, the name has also come to mean "the glowing evening sky", which describes perfectly the color of this cultivar in the spring".

Entering "akane" into the dialog box of an online Japanese > English translator returned "madder".

Are you saying it was introduced to France around 1984? Vertrees (Gregory) says Esveld introduced it to the Netherlands in 1991 and mentions no other western introduction, as though this was thought to be the first one.

Finally I succeeded in acquiring a lovely 'Akane' and am now forewarned by Gomero that perhaps this beauty will become an ugly duckling this coming summer. The grower from whom I purchased Akane was not aware of the brown spot blight Gomero has mentioned earlier (maybe my grower wasn't paying attention), so I'm curious to see how this plant will perform over the coming months. These photos were taken 4/17/09, 4/20/09 and 5/19/09.

Congratulations. I, too, am trying to chase down this beauty. I called a nursery yesterday and was told I just missed a four foot example. :(

Regarding the spots, if we dismiss lumens of light, drainage, and nutrition then what is left? Could it be temperature related? And/or perhaps humidity in the air? Something inherent in the tree's vascular system that stalls? Are these Akane which have displayed the spots on their own roots or grafted? If grafted, onto what?

Perhaps I should have been more specific. Gomero, specifically is your tree grafted or on its own roots? I know it is more common for a named cultivar to be grafted, but I also know layering is more common in Europe than it is here in America. And I have no idea what was in vogue in the 80's in Japan. I like to check assumptions. And, yes, if grafted, it is most likely grafted onto Acer palmatum (green because Akane is yellow), but again, I like to check assumptions. My Higasayama's understock is leafing out and it is not demonstrating a palmate leaf. I don't know what it was grafted onto or why.

Also, Gomero, I can tell from your posts that you are diligent about preventing, detecting, and killing pathogens. I anticipate that since summer of '06 you have eliminated anthracnose? While that doesn't eliminate an unknown pathogen as a suspect I would to consider it less likely. And I know from your posts that the lighting conditions and drainage are not the issue.

The only likely things left to consider are the moisture content in the air, temperature, or just some odd genetic twist to the tree.

So, are the weather conditions similar each time the phenomenon occurs? If so, what's happening? I don't know much about the climate in your area other than you wrote, "The climate in my region, Southwest France, is not rainy at all in the summer." So probably the humidity doesn't escalate, but it could. Maybe the temperatures rise and that tree is sensitive to temperature?

However this turns out I've found the information that you've shared very interesting and educational. I look forward to hearing how your new acquisition fares in comparison.

BTW, I'm sooo jealous. You've got TWO and I don't even have one. Boo hoo for me. Just kidding. Mostly. LOL

Thank you very much for your interest. The plant is indeed grafted on A. palmatum understock, none of my suppliers use air layering that I know.

I am in zone 8 with a climate which is transitional between mild European oceanic and hot dry Mediterranean; excess humidity is not an issue at all in the summertime.
Taking into account the yearly recurrence of the problem with my 'Akane' I would tend to believe that it is probably of genetic origin, likely coming from the understock. Probably similar to what happens with humans where some people are genetically prone to catch certain diseases more easily than others.

I've heard that many American suppliers are planning to add this cultivar to their catalogs, so I am sure that soon you will be able to have it in your collection. It is a very slow grower and could happily live in a container for many years.

I am in zone 8 with a climate which is transitional between mild European oceanic and hot dry Mediterranean; excess humidity is not an issue at all in the summertime.
Taking into account the yearly recurrence of the problem with my 'Akane' I would tend to believe that it is probably of genetic origin, likely coming from the understock....

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Gomero, just out of interest I wonder why you think the problem might come from the understock? If it affects your plants, and the previously referenced plants in Japan, surely they are all on different rootstocks or even (potentially) their own roots in the case of the Japanese plants?

I agree it sounds like a genetic problem. The closest cultivars I know personally are Katsura and Orange Dream and both of these often get burnt patches on the leaves. Nothing like as bad as happens to Akane though.

Have you ever noticed if a mixture of rain showers followed by hot sun makes the problem worse? I have a suspicion the yellow cultivars of Acer Palmatum are most susceptible to damage in these conditions, and Akane seems more yellow than most.

Just my 2 centimes' worth, hopefully asking questions like this furthers understanding for all of us.

Hi Maf,
Thank you for your interest.
The reason I think the problem with my first 'Akane' comes from the understock is that the condition does not show up (so far) in the second 'Akane'.

Have you ever noticed if a mixture of rain showers followed by hot sun makes the problem worse? I have a suspicion the yellow cultivars of Acer Palmatum are most susceptible to damage in these conditions, and Akane seems more yellow than most

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No, in fact the condition has started to appear these last few days which have been hot and dry. It has not rained in my garden for almost 3 weeks.

Interesting, I did not know that your second 'Akane' was problem free so far, let us hope it stays that way.

As more people (like mapledia for example) get a chance to grow this cultivar in different climates we will be able to find out how widespread the brown spot condition is, whether it is confined to wet/humid summer areas like Japan, and whether any other so far unseen factors come into play.

It is a lovely cultivar btw, I look forward to the day it is available in a nursery near me.

The reason I think the problem with my first 'Akane' comes from the understock is that the condition does not show up (so far) in the second 'Akane'.

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Well, back to the beginning: the second 'Akane' (bought from a different supplier in a different country three years after the first one) is showing signs of the same 'problem'. I took pictures today. The first pic shows the original 'Akane', ugly as expected at this time of the year (it has received since April a preventive treatment including weekly sprays of strong antifungals which do not seem to do anything). The second pic is of the second 'Akane' where the 'problem' starts to show up although not as bad as the other one.

If someone wonders, there are hundreds of maples in the garden and only these two show this 'problem'.

I take back what I said about the rootstock being the cause and I leave everything open. Are all 'Akanes' derived from the same original plant obtained by Tsukasa Maples?,

I am surely not the only one growing this cultivar, could other readers please comment on their plant's behavior?

Gomero, your trees problem does look similar to the leaves on a 'Sagara nishiki' here, which mainly affects the yellow portions of the leaves. It has shown up recently with the hot dry breezy weather , polluted air and no rain for about 2 weeks. Previous years I've thought it was due to dry soil and too much sun and have been thinking of moving the tree to a shaded, cooler, more humid area near a pond with moister soil, yet good drainage on a slope. The way the aphids were hitting some maples underleaves earlier this year has me wondering if the damage could even be related to a sap sucking insect, although I don't know if they favoured this tree. The aphids would hit a tree hard for about 2 days then be gone. Included a photo of 'Ichigyoji' underleaves taken May 29/09, they were all gone the next day and the tree seems to have no obvious damage. Photos 2 and 3, 'Sagara nishiki' June 14/09.

Gomero, your trees problem does look similar to the leaves on a 'Sagara nishiki' here, which mainly affects the yellow portions of the leaves. It has shown up recently with the hot dry breezy weather , polluted air and no rain for about 2 weeks. Previous years I've thought it was due to dry soil and too much sun and have been thinking of moving the tree to a shaded, cooler, more humid area near a pond with moister soil, yet good drainage on a slope. The way the aphids were hitting some maples underleaves earlier this year has me wondering if the damage could even be related to a sap sucking insect, although I don't know if they favoured this tree. The aphids would hit a tree hard for about 2 days then be gone. Included a photo of 'Ichigyoji' underleaves taken May 29/09, they were all gone the next day and the tree seems to have no obvious damage. Photos 2 and 3, 'Sagara nishiki' June 14/09.

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Chimera,
I agree that the problem of your 'Sagara Nishiki' resembles my 'Akanes'. It is interesting, and it adds to the mystery, that my 'Nishiki Gasane' (another yellow variegated cultivar) also shows similar behavior at this time of the year. However I see a small difference, in the case of the 'Akane' there is no die-back, branches and twigs stay pretty healthy in spite of having many leaves 'diseased'. In the case of the 'Nishiki gasane' there is a small amount of die back.

So, what do we have so far for this puzzle: mysterious, ugly condition affecting some yellow and yellow variegated cultivars the world over, with plants in varied settings and climates.
What I can say is that the preventive treatment I've followed this year (fungicides + insecticides) would have probably taken care of any living organism that may have wandered to any of the leaves of the 'Akane'.

I've now seen two Sagara nishiki exhibiting this in addition to the one referenced in the post. The second Sagara nishiki I saw was in a lot of sun. The first I saw was in significant shade near but not next to a small pond.

RE climate: we are having a record number of days without rain here in the Pacific NW.